Tampa Bay @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( May 21, 2016 ) Tampa Bay 4, Detroit 5

Cameron Maybin has provided quite a spark for the Detroit Tigers since returning from the disabled list and hopes to continue his hot hitting in the rubber match of a three-game series against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. Maybin is 11-for-17 with five runs scored after belting a homer and going 3-for-4 in Saturday’s 5-4 victory as the Tigers improved to 4-1 with the center fielder playing his first five games of the season.

Maybin (four stolen bases) missed his team's first 37 games with a left wrist injury and is making up for lost time while helping Detroit turn its season around. The Rays saw their four-game winning streak come to an end, but lost much more than Saturday’s contest as Gold Glove center fielder Kevin Kiermaier broke two metacarpal bones in his left hand diving for a ball and is out indefinitely. Tampa Bay’s franchise-record tying streak of scoring at least six runs in a game ended at six, but the Rays are still averaging 7.7 over the last seven contests. Evan Longoria will be looking to extend his hitting streak to 10 games for Tampa Bay.

TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), FSN Detroit

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Chris Archer (3-4, 4.38 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Jordan Zimmermann (6-2, 2.45)

Archer is 3-0 in his last five starts, allowing eight runs combined, after losing four straight to start the season. The 27-year-old North Carolina native has struggled with control through his win streak, walking 14 in his past four starts over 23 innings. Ian Kinsler (1-for-15) and Victor Martinez (1-for-9) have been kept under control by Archer, who is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in four starts against Detroit.

Zimmermann yielded eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits, including two homers, over seven innings against Minnesota on Monday and still ended a two-game losing streak. The 29-year-old Wisconsin native has slipped a bit after giving up only two earned runs combined in his first five starts but has lasted at least six innings in all eight outings. Steve Pearce is 4-for-9 with a pair of homers versus Zimmermann, who is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA against the Rays.

WALK-OFFS

1. Detroit RF J.D. Martinez homered for the fourth time in the last six games Saturday and has seven RBIs in that span.

2. Longoria became the ninth active player with 500 extra-base hits for his current team after belting his eighth homer Saturday.

3. Kinsler boasts a nine-game hitting streak, going 15-for-36 during the run with four homers and seven RBIs.

PREDICTION: Rays 3, Tigers 2